Three UL researchers among inaugural Lero Director’s Prize winners

Three researchers at University of Limerick were among nine winners of the inaugural Lero Director’s Prizes, recognising their achievements and contribution to the Science Foundation Ireland centre’s success.

Professor Brian Fitzgerald, director of Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre which is based at UL, made the presentations at the annual Lero Summit in Athlone.

A total of nine prizes were awarded across five categories including research excellence, entrepreneurship, education and public engagement, diversity and inclusion and outstanding service to Lero.

“What makes Lero unique is its members and it is a credit to the centre that we had so many strong nominations for the inaugural Director’s Prize. I was particularly pleased to see such a geographic spread of nominees and winners across a variety of research areas. Congratulations to the 2019 Lero Director’s Prize winners and I wish them well as they continue striving for, and achieving excellence,” said Prof Fitzgerald.

The Lero Director’s Prize for Entrepreneurship was presented to Fergal McCaffery of Dundalk Institute of Technology. Lero Director’s Prizes for Research Excellence were presented to Gabriel Muntean of Dublin City University and Klaas-Jan Stol of University College Cork.

Lero Director’s Prizes for Education and Public Engagement were awarded to Martin Mullins and Bilal Ahmad, both of University of Limerick. Anthony Ventresque, University College Dublin and Regina Connolly, Dublin City University were presented with Lero Director’s Prizes for Diversity and Inclusion.

Researcher Sarah Beecham of UL and former general manager of Lero, Brendan O’Malley were recognised for their Outstanding Contributions to Lero. Michelle Norris, also of UL, won the prize for best poster at the Lero Summit.